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Here’s an interesting argument: Senate Democrats are using the visage of Pedro Espada, vilified in the below video during interviews with seemingly-random people, to argue for immediate passage of ethics reform.

One man interviewed calls Espada a “crook.” He is facing criminal charges related to siphoning state funds out of his publicly funded health care clinic, but has pleaded not guilty. I can’t help but ask…wasn’t he the majority leader when the Senate Democrats held power?

“We heard the message of our people. We heard it loud and clear,” says Sen. Gustavo Rivera, who defeated Espada in a primary.

Now, Democrats are trying to paint Republicans as hypocrites for not acting on ethics reform, per a pledge they signed with the group New York Uprising.

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